Her First Lie

Hannah Bauer #.5

by Lucinda Berry

In this chilling prequel to The Perfect Child, USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry plunges readers into the dark origins of a family’s secrets, where good intentions pave the road to unspeakable acts and a mother’s love might be the deadliest inheritance of all.

Becky Watson learned early that trust is a weapon and secrets are survival. From foster homes to abandoned backroads, she and her childhood confidant Orion have buried more than just memories. Now, as a college freshman, Becky’s harboring her most dangerous secret her newborn daughter, Janie.

Desperation drives Becky to contact her estranged grandmother, Lillian. She swoops in like a guardian angel, but her salvation comes with a poisoned price tag. Behind Lillian’s nurturing facade lurks a web of generational secrets. As buried truths claw their way to the surface, Becky faces an impossible sacrifice her daughter or herself to break a twisted family legacy.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Thriller Suspense, Psychological Thriller

283 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2026

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She’s written multiple bestsellers reaching millions of readers worldwide. Some of her bestselling works include The Perfect Child, Saving Noah, When She Returned, The Best of Friends, and Keep Your Friends Close. Her books have been optioned for film and translated into several languages.

If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media (@lucindaberryauthor) or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.

Reviews

[Sydney Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I should reread The Perfect Child now

[Laura Lovesreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOOOO GENERATIONAL TRAUMA IS REALLLLLLLL

Her First Lie is a dark psychological thriller prequel to The Perfect Child, following Becky Watson, a college freshman who hides a secret, surprise birth in her dorm room. Trying to escape her abusive past, she hides her daughter, Janie, while facing desperate circumstances, before turning to her estranged grandmother, whose help unveils dangerous, toxic generational secrets.

Ms. Lucinda Traumatise Everyone Berry is back with a prequel on one of my favourite books of hers EVER and you wouldn’t believe how quickly I digested this book in one go!

This prequel scratched a part of my brain that has been yearning for more Janie content since The Perfect Child and A Welcome Reunion.

Getting the origin of how Janie came to be and understanding and reading about Becky was such a euphoric experience.

In true Berry fashion this book is dark, disturbing and pitifully sad.

I think we can all agree that we want to go back and read “The Perfect Child” after this book. I’m sure I had a hatred for Janie’s mum when reading the perfect child but after “Her First Lie”, I get it Becky… I really do!

I want to spill my guts about this book but that would be ruining it so all I’m going to say is you need to PICK THIS UP! It doesn’t matter which order you read it in, but if I had the option to choose I would still go with reading TPC first.

Now to you Ms. Berry… I don’t want to stress you out, but if you think I am not going to campaign for more Janie mayhem then you haven't seen nothing yet. I don’t care whether you must write about Janie and her life as a teenager, a mother, a grandmother… damn I will even take a book about her while she was in the womb…. I JUST NEED MORE JANIE!! That girl has positioned herself comfortable in my brain and needs to be fed!




4.5 ⭐




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
My obsession with the The Perfect Child by this author is unmatched!
I am so excited to finally be reading this prequel!
I just know its going to hit sooo differently!
🩷🖤🩷🖤

Thank you to Brilliance Publishing and Lucinda Berry for providing me with an audible arc

[Alya ( 20 comments restriction )]

We're getting more of Janie!!!! Omfg I'm so ecstatic -- the perfect child was everything!!!!! If this isn't another 5 star I'm gonna riot please please don't mess it up I'm begging 😭

[_blondebooknerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

NetGalley eARC book review. Thank you to NetGalley, Lucinda Berry, and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I AM UNWELL. Lucinda Berry Just Ruined Me (Again). 🔪🩸✨

I am throwing my five stars up in the air and letting them rain down like psychological confetti because Her First Lie absolutely wrecked me—in the best way. After a string of very “meh” January reads, this book showed up and said, “Oh, you forgot what obsessed feels like?” Excuse me?? I was HOOKED. 🎣🔥 When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it; when I had to stop, I was annoyed about it. I needed to know what was going to happen next. That constant mental itch? That’s elite thriller behavior. 🧠💥

So what’s the chaos? 👀

Becky Watson learned early that trust is a weapon and secrets are survival. Foster homes. Abandoned backroads. A childhood confidant named Orion. Memories buried deeper than they should be. 🕳️🌒 Now she’s a college freshman hiding her most dangerous secret yet: Her newborn daughter, Janie. 👶🖤 Let’s just sit with that. A newborn. In secret. As a freshman. Immediate anxiety. 😰

Desperate, she reaches out to her estranged grandmother, Lillian—who swoops in like a perfectly curated guardian angel. 😇 And if Lucinda Berry hands you a nurturing grandmother? You do not relax. 🚩 Behind that warmth? Generational secrets. Manipulation. A twisted legacy that refuses to die. 🕸️🩸 When the truth starts clawing its way up? SHOOK. 😳🔥

The Vibes ✨

Tense. Addictive. Suffocating in that slow-burn way. That creeping feeling that something is deeply wrong—but you can’t see the whole picture yet. 🫣 Lucinda Berry writes trauma and dysfunction like she has a PhD in emotional damage. It’s unsettling. It’s human. It’s layered. You feel for Becky even while questioning her choices, you worry for Janie constantly, and you side-eye Lillian from page one. 👀 It’s messy. It’s dark. It’s brilliant. 💎

Do you need to read The Perfect Child first? 📚

Nope. This is a prequel. You can absolutely go in blind. It might even hit harder that way. That said? It’s been YEARS since I read The Perfect Child and I am immediately going back. Because apparently I enjoy suffering. 🖤

Final Thoughts 🌟

Five stars. No complaints. All praise. 🙌 Another bestseller incoming for Dr. Berry—I would bet money on it. 💰 April 21, 2026. 🗓️ Clear your schedule. You’re going to want to binge this one. 🩸📚 Now excuse me while I go voluntarily reread trauma.

[Mandy K · Rating 5 out of 5]

**edit: I won’t change my rating for Her First Lie, but after reading The Perfect Child after this one, I’m frustrated by the major plot hole between the two books. Her First Lie focuses solely on Becky and Janie’s first years, but The Perfect Child has a completely different “Becky’s mom” and makes Her First Lie make no sense ☹️

Her First Lie 4.5⭐️

Her First Lie is a prequel to The Perfect Child (which I admittedly haven’t read yet, but I’m planning to listen to the audiobook next). Lucinda Berry is one of those authors that does a perfect job sucking me into her storytelling.

This is told from present day Becky’s POV, Becky’s past, and the current day investigators. The generational abuse and neglect are strong in this book. In typical Berry style-there are triggering scenes and topics. As frustrated as I found myself with Becky, my heart also broke for her. She made unbelievably bad decisions, but it made sense given her trauma. Whether you’ve already read The Perfect Child or not, I recommend diving into this one!

Pub Date Apr 21 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

[Christina C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Her First Lie is the prequel to The Perfect Child. Lucinda Berry is a fabulous author who writes intense, emotionally charged stories that make you feel all kinds of emotions. This story focuses on Becky, exploring her childhood and how those experiences shape the way she raises her daughter.

The novel deals with heavy themes such as child abuse and neglect, which may be difficult for some readers. Overall, it’s a powerful read.

I finished this in 1 day. Really hard to put down

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only open a Lucinda Berry book when I’m ready to be TRAUMATIZED and this delivered. I didn’t even realize it was apart of The Perfect Child universe until I started reading and I got so excited. Janie’s origin story! It is every bit as twisted and uncomfortable as you’d imagine it to be. I couldn’t put it down. This provides so much insight into the later story and I 100% recommend the read if you’re a fan of The Perfect Child.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc

[Joshua Waselynchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received from Netgalley. This story is a prequel to "The Perfect child" which I absolutely loved. We follow Becky, Janie's mom who didn't know she was pregnant until she gave birth to Janie. She is in college and scared so she hides Janie from the world while she figures things out.
You start to see the origins from Janie being how she was in the perfect child.

We get back story of Becky's mom who abused her and the effects of that trauma that leads to some very heavy themes throughout the book.

There was a third storyline that was happening with a detective uncovering a murder that I felt didn't do much for the story, just for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and liked being back in this universe of Janie.

[Kelliann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciated getting Janie’s backstory in this prequel to The Perfect Child, but wow – this one is heavy. The novel traces her life from birth and dives into generational trauma, graphic child abuse, and a deeply flawed foster care system.

It’s dark, disturbing, and often depressing, but the context it provides adds so much depth to Janie’s character and makes the main novel hit even harder.

A must-read for fans of The Perfect Child 🖤

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC ❤️

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love! Love! Love! Gimme more right now!! I would definitely recommend reading The Perfect Child before diving into this one. Lucina Berry can write the best gripping psychological thrillers. There was no putting this book down once I picked it up.

This book follows Becky and her daughter Janie. Becky had a horrible, traumatic, abusive childhood, so when she unexpectedly gives birth in her college dorm room, she’s determined to be a better mother than what she had and provide the best life for Janie. There’s only one problem, she doesn’t want anyone to know about Janie, because she’s afraid they will take her away. She keeps Janie a secret for most of the world until Janie starts displaying abnormal behaviors.

At the same time, we get a pov from a detective who is investigating a case where they keep uncovering bodies at an old foster house. The more the investigation continues, the more it ties into Becky and her childhood friend Orion.

When things get too much for Becky to handle, she calls her grandmother to come help her. But will her grandmother be her and Jamie’s saving grace, or will all the horror stories Becky’s mom told her about her grandmother be true?

This is a heavy read. It will pull at your heart strings, make you angry, and devastate you all at the same time. Lucinda Berry does a phenomenal job at pulling out every single emotion. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

[Caitlin Van Dette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ultimate villain origin story, no wonder Janie turned out the way she did. Read it in one sitting and I already have to restart it to fully grasp the masterful web Lucinda Berry has spun. Generational trauma does such a number on everyone involved.

This book broke me in ways I can’t even describe. Utterly devastating 10/10❤️

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

[Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucinda has done it again!

I read an ARC copy of her new book, Her First Lie, from NetGalley.

The book releases April 21, and you’re going to want to get your hands on it!

The book is the prequel to The Perfect Child, which I read back in 2019. And honestly, I didn’t like that book much. But I know a lot of people did.

But Her First Lie is Lucinda after years of writing. It’s dark. It’s capitvating. And it will keep you turning the pages and totally understanding why Janie is so messed up.

Check your triggers, then get your hands on this one ASAP. I gave it five stars.

[Reisa Bolog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! First favorite book of the year! I was so happy to receive this from NetGalley and immediately devoured it!!! This is a prequel to the perfect child and can be read as a standalone. Beginning with a surprise pregnancy the book takes many twist and turns. I was fully invested in all story lines and loved it! I’m going to reread the perfect child now to fully absorb what I just read.
Check your triggers, child abuse, SA (not in graphic detail)

[Katie Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was able to read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley. I enjoyed the story, but there were a few plot holes. In The Perfect Child, either Piper or the police track down Becky's mom in jail. She claimed that she had raised Janie due to Becky being an addict. But here we find out that Becky's mom is dead & that Becky never had a drug problem. It's not a huge issue, but just enough to bug me. It's still a good story & I did enjoy it.

[Michelle Menendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get an arc of this book. I loved it. Reading this book made the perfect child even better. Even though I read perfect child first this book makes that book make so much more sense.

Amazing book!!

[LaceyBanana Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25. This is the prequel to The Perfect Child where we met Janie and her story starting in childhood. In Her First Lie, we learn about Janie’s birth, her mother, and how she came to be the way she is.

After reading The Perfect Child in 2024, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. What a wild story! When I saw that the prequel was coming, I couldn’t have been more excited. I needed to know why Janie is the way she is. What I didn’t expect was for this to be such a hard read (emotionally) and while I know that child abuse is a trigger for me, I still needed to know the story. This was so heartbreaking and insightful. I couldn’t put down this fast paced mess with twists I didn’t see coming. This delved into both Janie and her mother in a way that didn’t leave many questions yet I still feel confused because humans never fail to shock me. If you enjoyed The Percect Child, this is a must read!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Lucinda Berry, and Thomas & Mercer for providing this free E-ARC. This publishes on April 21st. This is my honest review!

[Hannah's Biblioblurbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 Stars)

If you loved The Perfect Child, then RUN — don’t walk — to grab this prequel. 🏃‍♀️💨

This story takes us deep into Janie’s past and unpacks the chilling chain of events that lead right up to where The Perfect Child begins. And wow… it adds so much depth. 👀

Lucinda Berry’s firsthand background in childhood trauma really shows here. The emotional weight feels real. Heavy. Unsettling. The kind of book that pulls you in so completely you forget you’re reading fiction. 🧠💔

Fair warning: you might need a fluffy rom-com or cozy mystery as a palette cleanser afterward. I know I do. 😅📚

✨ What I Loved:

Getting long-awaited answers about Janie

The satisfying way it ties everything together

The light past vs. present shifts (super easy to follow!)

This was exactly what I wanted in a prequel — meaningful, layered, and a solid wrap-up that enhances the original story instead of just riding its coattails.

If you’re already in the Berry universe… this one’s a must. 🔥

Thanks to Netgalley, Lucinda Berry, and Thomas & Mercer publishers for the ARC and chance to give my honest feedback!

[Meagan Beal · Rating 5 out of 5]

JANIES BACK!!! I ran when I saw we were getting a prequal to The Perfect Child. (One of my all-time favorite thrillers) Janies Origin story start off in a college dormitory, with a young woman just trying to survive and do better for herself. Her First Lie is so intense and starts with a bang and doesn't stop the whole time. We get to meet the people that shaped Janie for the first couple years of her life, and to say the least I'm not surprised by the way she acted. I liked that we got the back and forth of Beckys life, and with other POVS. This all wrapped around to the sequel A Welcome Reunion, where we see Janie as an adult! This is not a light read, Lucinda Berry writes characters that feel so real and with things you can see in real life! You can't help but feel for them and hope for them! I couldn't put this book down; I just had to see what came next and the never-ending hope I had for them!!!
4.5*




Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

[Melissa Suslowicz Bartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow and wow!!!!! I’m totally speechless. I had so many emotions while reading this one. It definitely completed this series. I’m warning you now put Kleenex next to you. You will 100% need it. Some parts of this book were very hard to read. There were many sensitive topics in this one. I’m lucky I don’t get triggered easily. So I don’t even know where to begin with this one. This was the prequel to this series and finally we got the missing pieces to the puzzle of this little girl and her family. You now understood how it all begin and boy it was not pretty. You did get bits and pieces throughout each of this series books but not like this one. I absolutely loved having a full story. I also would recommend to skim through the other books to refresh your memory. All in all I would highly recommend this book and author. Her books are great and so is she. She is definitely on my Top Ten favorite author list and so are all her books. I can’t wait to read more from her.

[Emily Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Perfect Child, so I was excited to go back and see where it all started — and WOW! Lucinda Berry truly has a talent for writing the most unsettling children in the best way. It’s honestly impressive how she makes you feel sympathy and dread at the same time.

What I loved most about this prequel is how much backstory we get. Not just on Janie, but on Becky (Janie's bio mom) and even Becky’s mom. Seeing the generational layers added so much depth. It makes everything that happens later feel even more disturbing because you start to see how long this cycle has been building.

If you like psychological thrillers that dig into family secrets, generational trauma, and morally messy motherhood this one delivers. And somehow it makes The Perfect Child even darker once you know the full story.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Her First Lie – Lucinda Berry

This was an instant one-sitting read for me because I physically could not put it down. From the very beginning, Lucinda Berry throws us straight into Becky’s life, a young woman who escaped her abusive mother years ago, now a college student suddenly blindsided by giving birth to a baby girl she didn’t even know she was carrying.

Desperate and overwhelmed, Becky reaches out to her estranged grandmother, who appears almost too eager to step in like a guardian angel. But this is Lucinda Berry… and if there’s one thing we know, it’s that no character is ever as perfect as they seem.

I really felt for Becky and the impossible situation she’s navigating, even while questioning some of her choices. The story is chaotic, messy, and emotionally tense exactly the kind of unsettling character-driven drama Berry excels at. It was undeniably gripping and wildly compelling.

[Vito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucinda Berry is back with a new novel in the Perfect Child universe. “Her First Lie” takes us to the beginning and it’s a great start to a traumatic series.

This prequel is twistier and more well rounded than what comes next — I enjoyed my time trying to understand what caused Janine to become the little devil that she is in the sequel and series. It’s a hard job to humanize her and her family but Berry does a good job overall. This mother’s love ultimately does more harm than good but what is it that they say about the road to hell?

For those that may have read the Perfect Child you probably think you know where this is heading — in the wise words of Alyssa Edwards of Drag Race, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her First Lie was such an intense prequel to The Perfect Child. Lucinda Berry really leans into the heavy stuff here, covering everything from foster care abuse to generational trauma in a way that felt raw and emotional. I loved the dual timeline and the different POVs, especially since the narration was so well done. My only real critique is that the detective’s POV felt a bit unnecessary and slowed things down when I just wanted to get back to the main story. It’s a traumatic but powerful read that fans of the first book should definitely check out and it can also be read as a standalone.

Thank you to brilliance publishing for the ALC!

[Raymie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janie is my favorite psycho child.

This is the prequel to The Perfect Child. This is shows the beginning of Janie and how she became the way she is.

This book was fast paced book that I could not put it down. We got the POV from Becky (Janie’s mom) and a cop who is investigating some murders.

It was fun to see how these two POVs connected and watching the generational trauma that is passed down from mother to daughter and so on.

It really makes you feel bad for Janie and also Becky.

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 278
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice:
Series or Standalone: prequel to the perfect child

[Heather Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Thomas&Mercer for the book #HerFirstLie by #LucindaBerry. This is the prequel to the Perfect Child and is phenomenal. Becky, who is Janie’s biological mother, was tossed around from foster home to foster home. Now she is on college and thriving. That is until she turns up pregnant and everything changes. She turns to flyer grandmother, Lillian, who she has never met for help. This might not be the right move for her and Janie.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. I was very interested in reading about Janie’s origin story after reading the rest of the series. This book was tragic, as Berry’s books usually are. I was hooked on the story and absolutely disgusted by it at the same time. You’re killing us, Lucinda. Maybe throw in a happy puppy next time?

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

[Asha Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW!

This book was crazy at every single turn. This backstory is extremely beneficial after reading The Perfect Child. I was in constant shock through the whole thing and now we have answers to why Janie is the way she is and how her upbringing contributed to that.

[Maria Escatel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced readers copy.

This is the prequel of “The perfect child”.
This tells us the backstory of Becky & how the way she was raised and all the trauma and abuse she faced - ultimately shaped the way her daughter (Janie) the little girl in the book the perfect child turned out to be.

It was a heavy read.
Hard to put down.

[Marisol Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Janie, Sweet Janie. As expected Dr Berry did not disappoint!! With this Prequel to The Perfect Child we get a glimpse into why Janie is well Janie. That ending left me feeling a mix of emotions. I read it in one day, thank you Netgalley and Lucinda Berry for the ARC, I feel I need to read it again, to properly revel in the chaos and so I will.

[Ashley Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lucinda Berry you did it again! Really hard to put down once you started! Easily a 5 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Her First Lie is the prequel to The Perfect Child. This novel focuses on Becky, exploring her childhood and into her adulthood having her daughter Janie in secret…at college. How her experiences shaped the way she raised Janie.

Buckle up because you are in for a ride with this one!